Vietnam Party dismisses top Public Security officials, recommends demotion

A current and a former deputy minister of Public Security have been dismissed from all Party positions and face demotion from their current ranks.

They have been found violating rules on protecting state secrets and mismanaging public land and property.

Lieutenant General Bui Van Thanh, Deputy Minister of Public Security, was dismissed from all Party positions at a Politburo meeting on Saturday. Thanh was member of the Executive Committee of Public Security Force's Party Unit for the term 2016-2021 and member of the Executive Committee of the Party unit of the ministry's General Department of Logistics-Engineering between 2010 and 2015.

The Politburo, the highest decision-making body of the Communist Party of Vietnam, also dismissed Colonel General Tran Viet Tan, former Deputy Minister of Public Security, from his position as member of the Executive Committee of the Public Security Force's Party unit for the 2011-2016 term.

It has tasked the government with carrying out further disciplinary actions against the two generals, including demotion in the police force.

The decisions to punish Thanh and Tan came after the Party's Central Inspection Committee reported on their violations and recommended disciplinary actions at a three-day meeting that closed on Thursday.

According to the inspectors, Thanh, as the deputy public security minister responsible for the ministry's General Department of Logistics-Engineering and as the department's former general director, had to be held responsible for violations committed by the Standing Committee of the department's Party unit.

He was found to have violated the democratic centralism principle and shown irresponsibility in leading, managing, inspecting and supervising the department, enabling violations to take place at the unit.

Additionally, Thanh had violated regulations on protecting state secret and the ministry's working regulations, and broken laws in signing documents proposing the sale of several properties and land lots that belonged to the ministry.

He was also found to have signed a decision allowing Da Nang's real estate tycoon Phan Van Anh Vu to travel abroad and requested a diplomatic passport for him, although Vu was not qualified to get one.

Vu left Vietnam to dodge an arrest warrant against him for revealing state secrets last December, before being deported by Singapore and arrested upon landing in Vietnam in January. He is scheduled to stand trial for revealing state secrets at a closed trial next Monday.

Inspectors also found that Tan, during his time as member of the Executive Committee of the Public Security Force's Party unit, had shown irresponsibility in leading, managing, inspecting and supervising the force. He had also signed a number of documents that violated regulations on protecting state secrets.

The Politburo concluded that Thanh and Tan's violations have caused "very serious" consequences, heavily damaged the reputations of the Party and the Public Security Force and angered the public.

A series of dismissals and warnings against high-ranking officials are adding heat to Vietnam's corruption crackdown spearheaded by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

Scores of top officials and businesspeople have been investigated and/or sent to jail over the past couple years. Trong, 74, has repeatedly said that the momentum of the corruption fight would maintained and that it would continue to push ahead, sparing no one.